Tiffany saw us approaching. She wore a tight, spotless white dress that hugged a picture-perfect eight-month bump. She placed a delicate hand on her belly as if rehearsing for a photo shoot.
“Sarah!” Tiffany sang out. Her voice was high-pitched and fluttery, like wind chimes blowing in a storm. “Oh my god, you really came.
That’s so… admirable.”
The surrounding conversations softened. Guests leaned in slightly, pretending not to stare while absolutely staring. “Hello, Tiffany,” I replied, calm and controlled.
I handed her the gift bag. Inside was a cashmere blanket—expensive, neutral, emotionless. “Congratulations.”
She took the bag with only her fingertips and passed it to an assistant without glancing inside.
Her eyes scanned my face eagerly, searching for signs of pain. “This must be incredibly difficult for you,” she said loudly enough for the people behind her to hear. “Since you couldn’t give Mark any more children after Leo.
Because of your complications, right? But don’t worry—I’m planning to fill this home with little ones. A true legacy.”
Her words were sharp and deliberate.
The older version of myself would have cried. But the version who survived the divorce just smiled—a thin smile carved from pure survival. “Quality over quantity, Tiffany,” I said evenly.
Mark hurried over, sensing tension. “Sarah, good to see you. Leo, look at you!
A real gentleman.” He patted Leo’s head like he was a pet. He didn’t hug him or ask him anything real. He just inspected him, like checking an accessory.
“Hi, Dad,” Leo murmured, moving closer to me. “We’ll mingle,” I said, taking a step back. “Nice event, Mark.”
As Leo and I walked toward the lemonade table, I kept watching Tiffany.
She floated from group to group, smiling, posing, flipping her hair. That nagging feeling grew stronger. I remembered my eighth month of pregnancy.
I could barely stand without support. My feet had swollen so much they barely fit into sandals. Tiffany, meanwhile, was balancing effortlessly in four-inch heels, turning and bending like someone who wasn’t carrying anything at all.
“Mom, your hand is squeezing me,” Leo said. I released him immediately. “Sorry, baby.”
“Why is she walking like that?” he asked.
“You showed me videos of you when you had me. You walked like a penguin.”
“Every pregnancy is different,” I replied, though unease tightened my stomach. The patio looked like a perfect scene from a lifestyle magazine—soft music, fancy drinks, expensive outfits.
But something felt fake. Too perfect. Manufactured.
Then, suddenly, the music stopped. A high-pitched squeal echoed from the speakers. “Everyone gather, please!” Mark announced proudly.
“The sun is almost down, and Tiffany has a wonderful surprise. A brand-new 4D ultrasound from yesterday! You’re all about to meet the heir!”
The lights dimmed.
A huge projection screen descended slowly. People moved closer, whispering in excitement. Emotional background music began playing—soft piano, sentimental and dramatic.
“Look, Leo,” I whispered, guiding him to a seat. “This is for your baby brother.”
Leo sat down, restless. “Can I play on your phone?”
“In a minute,” I murmured.
The projector came alive. The large screen showed a high-resolution image: the womb, the fluid, the faint outline of a tiny face. The crowd gasped in wonder.
“Oh my goodness! That jawline!” someone near the front exclaimed. “Definitely Mark’s kid!”
Tiffany stood proudly beside the screen, holding a microphone.
She touched her belly again. “Dr. Evans told us he’s very active.
He kicks nonstop. Mark thinks he’ll be a striker.”
Mark’s eyes shined as he stared at the screen. He looked like a man watching his legacy unfold in gold.
I watched quietly. But then the camera angle on the video shifted. And Leo—who had been bored until then—stopped fidgeting.
His eyes narrowed. “Mom!” he shouted suddenly. His voice cut clean through the music.
“Leo,” I whispered hastily. “Quiet—”
“No, Mom!” He climbed onto his chair and pointed at the screen. “That’s MY picture!
That’s ME!”
People chuckled politely. Mark laughed stiffly. “No, little man.
That’s your baby brother.”
“Yes it is!” Leo’s cheeks flushed with frustration. “See the star? Mom showed me!
The star in her tummy!”
I froze. My mind went perfectly still. I looked up at the screen, my heart thudding loudly in my chest.
There it was: the small, triangular shadow in the upper right corner. The exact same shape from Leo’s ultrasound—a benign fibroid I had during pregnancy. The one Leo had called his “star.”
And then I noticed the glitch: the tiny static line near the bottom.
The very same flaw that showed up on all our old ultrasound videos. Tiffany hadn’t found a fake. She hadn’t found a stock clip.
She hadn’t tried to hide it well. She had simply stolen Leo’s ultrasound from the old cloud archives—folders I had created, saved, labeled—and presented my pregnancy as her own. A wave of fury hit me so hard it nearly buckled my knees.
I pulled out my phone. Mark had never updated the login information. I opened the cloud app, went straight to Leo’s folder, and pulled up the original file.
I walked toward the stage. Slowly. Steadily.
Like someone walking toward a battle they knew they would win. People stepped aside instinctively. “Sarah?” Mark asked, squinting toward me.
“What are you doing?”
Tiffany stiffened, her hand tightening on her stomach. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” I said, voice clear and sharp. “But everyone here needs to see this.”
Tiffany hissed to Mark, “She’s drunk.
Get security!”
“I’m sober,” I said flatly. “But you’re intoxicated with lies.”
I held up my phone. “Leo, what did we see in the album last week?”
“The star!” he said proudly.
“Correct. The star.” I pointed to the screen. “That triangular shadow near the top?
That is my fibroid. Mine. Removed years ago.
Meaning this video is not Tiffany’s baby. It is Leo. At thirty-two weeks.”
The crowd murmured, confused and shocked.
I displayed the metadata—date, location, file name: Leo_Ultrasound_32Weeks.mp4. Tiffany started shaking, sweating through her makeup. Mark stared at the screen, then at my phone, then at Tiffany.
“Lift your shirt,” he said, voice barely audible. Tiffany panicked. “Mark, no!
You’re embarrassing me!”
“Lift. Your. Shirt.”
When she refused, he pulled at the fabric.
Not gently. There was a loud tearing sound—Velcro ripping open. Her “belly” shifted.
Then dropped. The silicone bump hit the floor with a heavy thud. The crowd gasped so loudly it felt like the air disappeared.
Tiffany’s stomach was completely flat. Mascara streamed down her cheeks as she screamed, “I did it for you! You said you needed an heir!”
Mark stared at the silicone mound, horrified.
Then he looked at me, then at Leo. Whatever pride or arrogance he’d had dissolved into pure shame. “Sarah,” he whispered, stepping toward us, “I didn’t know.
I swear I didn’t know.”
“I believe you,” I said quietly. “But I’m done.”
I picked up Leo. His arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders.
“Let’s go home.”
The house went on the market within days. The annulment happened quickly. Tiffany disappeared into silence and scandal.
Weeks later, Leo and I sat on our living room floor, looking through real printed photos—something nobody could steal. “That’s me!” Leo said, pointing at his newborn picture. “That’s you,” I smiled.
My phone buzzed. A message from Mark. Can I visit this weekend?
I miss him. I miss us. I made a terrible mistake.
I stared at the message. For a long moment. Then I deleted it.
And blocked the number. “Mom,” Leo said softly, “you look happy in this picture.”
I looked at the photograph—just me and Leo at the park, eating ice cream, covered in chocolate, laughing for no reason. “Yes,” I said.
“I am happy.”
And looking around my small living room, full of warmth and light, I finally knew it was true.
